Oxford Cambridge and RSA - GCSE English Language J351/01 Communicating information and ideas - Sample Insert

Sep 5, 2026

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GCSE English Language J351/01 Sample Insert provides reading materials for Section A, introducing two contrasting magazine-style extracts. Text 1 presents Chauncy Montgomery McGovern’s 1899 description of Nikola Tesla’s laboratory, emphasizing wonder, imagination, and impossible-seeming inventions. Text 2 features Lesley White’s 1995 interview with Bill Gates, focusing on future technology and the “information age.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time1 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Text 1

Adapted from The New Wizard of the West

Text 2

Adapted from Net Prophet

Instructions

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Date – Morning/Afternoon GCSE (9-1) English Language J351/01 Communicating information and ideas Sample Insert Time allowed: 2 hours INSTRUCTIONS • Use this Insert to answer the questions in Section A. • Do not send this Insert for marking. Keep it in the centre or recycle it. INFORMATION • This document has 4 pages. The two texts that follow are: Text 1: Adapted from The New Wizard of the West An extract from written in 1899 by Chauncy Montgomery McGovern Text 2: Adapted from Net Prophet An extract from written in 1995 by Lesley white Text 1 In this magazine article, Chauncy Montgomery McGovern describes his visit, in 1899, to the laboratory of Nikola Tesla, a famous electrical engineer who designed the modern electricity supply system. Fancy yourself seated in a large, well-lighted room, with mountains of curious-looking 1 machinery on all sides. A tall, thin young man walks up to you and, by merely snapping his fingers, creates instantaneously a ball of leaping red flame, and holds it calmly in his hands. As you gaze you are surprised to see it does not burn his fingers. He lets it fall upon his clothing, on his hair, into your lap, and finally puts the ball of flame into a wooden box. You are 5 are amazed to see that nowhere does the flame leave the slightest trace, and you rub your eyes to make sure you are not asleep. The odd flame having been extinguished as miraculously as it appeared, the tall, thin young man next signals to his assistant to close all the windows. When this has been done, the room is as dark as a cave. A moment later you hear the man say, ‘Now my friends, I will make for 10 you some daylight.’ Quick as a flash the whole laboratory is filled with a strange light as beautiful as that of the moon, but as strong as that of the sun. As you glance up at the closed shutters on each window, you see that each of them is as tight as a vice, and that no rays are coming through them. Cast your eyes wherever you will, you can see no trace of the source of the odd light. 15 To tell of these and a thousand other wonders that Tesla does in a trice gives only a faint conception of their effect on the visitor. To really appreciate them one must see and hear and feel them in the flesh. It is a scientific treat of a lifetime, but it is a treat that few can enjoy for the laboratory of Tesla is securely locked against everyone not provided with an introduction from a personal friend of the audacious wizard. 20 Mention is made in this paper of only those inventions which have passed beyond the experimental stage. But there are hundreds of other promised wonders in development in the great inventor’s miracle-factory. As I have heard one of his admirers express it, an enumeration of these ‘sounds like the dream of a half-intoxicated god.’ No one who is privileged to have heard Tesla explain his plans has the slightest doubt that 25 every one of his promises will be fulfilled in an equally successful way. Text 2 In this magazine article, Lesley White describes her interview with Bill Gates. Gates had just written a book about his vision of the future. Staying ahead for Bill Gates means looking ahead, craning further and further into the 1 unknown. He spends his life in the future, and he can’t wait to get there, racing through his schedules, anticipating questions, talking over the slow responses of the people around him. He has even tired of explaining the information superhighway and his ‘vision’ of the next century, so he has written his new book because he wanted to stop repeating himself. 5 The miracles of the future are detailed in his book: the wonder of the wallet-sized PC that will make cash redundant; of telecommuters and video-conferencing; of hiring entertainment, ordering shopping and making friends without meeting another person. He wants the world to share his optimism and he sees his book as a way of inviting ever

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Sample Insert in this document?

Use the Insert to answer questions in Section A. It should not be sent for marking.

What are the two texts included in the Sample Insert?

Text 1 is adapted from The New Wizard of the West, and Text 2 is adapted from Net Prophet.

What is Text 1 mainly about?

Text 1 describes Chauncy Montgomery McGovern’s 1899 visit to Nikola Tesla’s laboratory and the extraordinary inventions he witnesses.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Liam